Folksy Upcycle Competition

Folksy, the UK online marketplace for buying and selling stuff, are running an Upcycle Competition. The idea behind it is to make something new from second hand/charity shop stuff which will be sold at auction on 7th December 2009 in aid of Sue Ryder, the healthcare charity.

I'm not a natural crafter so I've been seeking inspiration for quite a while. I don't sew and my knitting skills are pretty basic so I decided to stick to working with paper. I've been interested in making books for quite some time and so finally thought I should attempt an accordion photo book. I've never made one before so it was a bit of a learning curve but there are lots of handy tutorials available online.

For my accordion book I used some recycled kraft paper that was used to wrap a parcel. This means it's a bit crumpled, folded and marked in places but I think that adds to the charm! I then made accordion folds at carefully measured intervals to give the book it's shape. I didn't want to be too ambitious so I decided to make 8 openings for displaying items. I wanted to use the photo book to display some of my vast collection of vintage dog playing cards and postcards. It was difficult making the final selection but I knew that it would have to include a tribute to Caesar, Edward VII's favourite fox terrier. I have a postcard that shows him walking in the procession at Edward's funeral in 1910 (although the background has been edited out) and thought this would be perfect!

Once I'd decided on the items, I made templates the same size out of cardboard and used these to decide the exact position of the apertures. Using my bone folder (one of my tools from my real job as an Archivist!) I scored an outline on the reverse. I then made diagonal cuts using a scalpel and carefully folded the paper back. I then placed the cards in position and folded the paper over to hold them in place. I rather like this technique as it means the postcards are interchangeable.

I found some lovely old tweed material in a second hand fabric shop and had just enough to cover the front and back covers with it. As a final touch, I cut out a Scottish Terrier from felt and stuck it on the cover, along with black ribbons to enable the book to be tied flat, when not on display.

There are some beautiful and very creative entries to the competition which you can see by clicking here.